Never smile at a crocodile. Or ice skate with an alligator. Picture: Facebook/Shallotte River Swamp ParkSource:Facebook

HOW does an alligator deal with a cold snap?

The answer, thanks to a video from an American wildlife park, has gone viral.

And, like surviving many things in life, it’s all about keeping your head above water.

Or your snout, to be exact. Even if it looks as creepy as heck.

The Shallotte River Swamp Park in North Carolina in the US lifted the lid on the ancient survival trick when it posted an eerie-looking video of its rescue alligators in ice after last week’s perilous snow storms.

The only part of their bodies protruding from their frozen-over home is their snout, with maybe a few teeth visible.

There are more than 10 of these babies frozen in this pond. Picture: Facebook/Shallotte River Swamp ParkSource:Facebook

Basically, when the cold truly kicks in, so does prehistoric instinct.

They get their snouts above the surface and basically let themselves get frozen into place.

Though not all animals are so lucky. Sharks and iguanas have been found frozen solid in the wake of the “bomb cyclone”, which has pummelled the US east coast.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said it discovered three dead thresher sharks stranded on a beach in Massachusetts in the past three days, as a result of the record-breaking cold snap.

It is believed that the first two died due to “cold shock” but the third was found completely frozen, with the group dubbing it a “true sharkcicle”.

Iguanas were also seen stiffening and falling out of trees in parts of South Florida.

The storm, categorised by meteorologists as a “Bomb Cyclone”, rapidly intensified off the East Coast, undergoing what in meteorology is called “bombogenesis”, or an extremely sharp drop in atmospheric pressure.

How do you know when they’re defrosted? Picture: Facebook/Shallotte River Swamp ParkSource:Facebook